It’s safe to say that the world has transformed over the last few years. There have been more changes to the way we live in the last three decades than in all of human history. Some of them are simply outdated, while others are so dangerous or foolish in retrospect that it’s a miracle they were allowed at all. Check them out, you won’t believe your eyes.
They Monitored Swimwear
For real, this guy is out measuring the length of the lady’s swimsuit. It was against the rules for the bottom of the swimsuit to be more than half a foot above the knee.
Outrageous Outdoor Pursuits
In today’s safety-conscious world, everybody would go to jail for running or participating in a 1920’s zipline experience. Come to think of it, that’s probably for the best.
Medication Wasn’t Marvelous
This was supposed to help people concentrate. How? By cutting off the user’s hearing, limiting their vision and pumping pure oxygen into the brain.
The Elephant Swimmers
No, this lady is not Joseph Merrick’s sister. She’s a swimmer and this was the way to avoid facial tanning back in the day.
The Mobile Library
This one is kind of sweet. It’s the public library for people too sick to go to the library themselves. However, it must have been an incredible effort for the librarian to push this around.
The Birds Ran The Parks
Yes, this guy’s job is to give the birds a shower. Sure, they’re penguins and needed to keep cool, but surely there was a better way than this.
The Baddest Bike of Them All
It’s a motorcycle. It’s made of a single wheel. Surely, that means it won’t go very fast. Nope. This baby would do 93 mph top speed. Crashes don’t bear thinking about, do they?
Serious Safety Tests
No, this isn’t a new way of driving a bus. This is the original manufacturers of London’s Double-Decker buses showing that they wouldn’t fall over on corners.
Child Cages
Keeping babies in cages? There’s probably a law against it now. But it was once common to place the baby in a mesh balcony to keep it cool.
Libraries and Chill
These reading glasses aren’t as crazy as they look. They let the wearer lay down flat and still read a book. Where can we get some?
Antique GPS System
They had the idea for GPS long before GPS was possible. They used the “scrolling map” instead to try and achieve the same thing. It took nearly as long to set up as it did to drive where you wanted to go.
Ingenious Car Parking
This car park was actually very much ahead of its time. Getting the cars in place would have been very dangerous, but today it’s the sort of job that can be done by a robot.
No Flakes on Them
We love this even if we wouldn’t wear it. This is a special form of hat designed to protect the wearer’s delicate face from snowflakes. Seriously.
Dinner Dates Were Complicated
Yes, this is a bicycle made for four. Two people pedal while the others kick back and enjoy themselves. We can’t work out why it didn’t catch on.
Babies From Outer Space?
Actually, they’re not alien babies but rather babies being rushed to a bomb shelter in London during World War II. Those are baby gas masks.
Hard As Nails
This guy is showing off his weight lifting skills. Yes, with un-detonated ordnance for weights. That beats pretty much any amount of modern day crazy.
Cars Went Swimming
Oh my. This is a car that’s also a boat. It’s made by Peugeot and strangely, despite its age, it worked well enough. There were no mass drownings of its owners.
Skating on Thin Roads
The early designs for roller skates left a lot to be desired from both a practical and an aesthetic viewpoint. Imagine trying to get home on these.
Barking Mad?
This is a Turkish soldier who has been captured by two Anzacs. Yes, he’s disguised as a tree. Let’s hope his bark was better than his bite.
Before He Was Back
Arnold Schwarzenegger was a big deal back in the day and he’d go to the park so that the grannies could check him out.
The Postman Only Knocks on the Roof Twice
This French mailman was given a pair of stilts to make getting around delivering the mail easier. We’re not sure how that works at all.
Tin Can Target
This was how they went about inventing the first bulletproof armor. We’re not sure that running into battle wearing that heavy box would have made life very easy for the soldier inside.
Steaming Hot
This is a fire engine from 1910. Notice anything odd about it? It’s a steam-powered fire engine. There’s no gas engine to be found.
They Were Short On Horses
Actually, there were plenty of horses back then. We have no idea what would have made riding a Billy Goat seem like a good idea, but we’re not here to judge.
The Bear Necessities
So, instead of fleeing in panic from major carnivores, our grandparents put them on a rope and took them to lunch. This bear is feasting on a bowl of honey.
